All Roads lead to Rome

People in the ancient world always said that "all roads lead to Rome." Now, as I left Oak Meadow Lane in Mocksville, NC  yesterday morning, I can say that even my rural farm road leads me to Rome.

Rome, or Roma as the Italians call it is the capital of Italy and is located in the Lazio region of the uniquely designed boot shaped country. The city of Rome has a population of approximately 4.3 million residents. Vatican City, an independent country is located within the borders of the city. It has two capitals within the city.  It is referred to as "Roma Aeterna"  or the Eternal City^] and "Caput Mundi"  or Capital of the World).

Although we had a red eye, a nine hour flight from Charlotte to Rome, as soon as we got off the plane we were taken directly to our tour bus.  We traveled just a few miles to a very "Italian" eatery. We had bread,  Salami, Soppresata, Prosciutto, Pepperoni and that was just the appetizer. We had a course of manicotti and then another of lemon & olive oil chicken. We ended the meal with a tiramisu with a double shot expresso to chase the sweet down.

After that we were transferred over near the Mediterranean coast to
Ostia Antica. This is a large archeological site, close to the modern suburb of Ostia. This was the harbor city of Ancient Rome. Ostia means
"mouth" which is the mouth of the River Tiber. It is said to be Rome's first colony. 

So far, the most notable is the  beautiful language. Being a romantic language, the Italians take it to the next level with their antimated lilt and flow. It's beautiful!

So, all roads do lead to Rome. We're just starting our journey. We will head to the "eternal city" next week.